The Baby In The Woman
by 26hannah26
Summary: Brennan finds herself pregnant, but what will Booth think? Will she end up alone with a baby, or will she get the happy family she really wants? Recently reuploaded due to errors. COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hey folks, this is an experimental thing so if you think its rubbish let me know. If I do post more chapters, more of the story will be explained and such, so reviews would be much appreciated. Cheers! Read with an open mind!

Temperance Brennan stared at the photograph in her hands. She had stared at it so many times in the past week that she didn't really need it anymore – the image was burned on her brain, for better or worse. She wasn't sure whether this was a good thing or a bad thing yet.

'This,' she thought to herself, 'is the kind of thing, the kind of image, which you never forget – like your first kiss, or your first corpse.' She couldn't believe she had just compared a corpse to a kiss, but then work had always come first for her. This was why the whole situation was difficult for her. Her job came first and last, and this had never factored into the equation for her.

A baby…That was something she had never expected.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

She couldn't remember exactly how it had happened – she knew how it happened of course, she was a scientist, she just couldn't remember the events leading up to it. All she was sure of was that alcohol was involved. A lot of alcohol. 'So now I'm about to become a single mother, and I may be an alcoholic,' she thought. This couldn't be happening to her.

She was fairly certain she knew who it happened with. She was no slut, but she was hardly a prude. She and David had been close to having a serious relationship, but work got in the way. And with Michael, work had been the reason the relationship started and ended. But she hoped to God that the father wasn't who she knew, deep in her heart, that it was. Just her luck.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

'You're a scientist, Temperance,' she thought, 'Work it out.' The doctor had told her she was nine weeks pregnant – two months and a week. She didn't even feel pregnant, just a bit queasy, but she thought she knew her body well enough to know that there was a miniature person inside her.

She had tried when she first found out to be clinical about the whole thing, to not let herself get too attached, because she wasn't sure what she was going to do about it yet. A termination seemed like the sensible option (she wasn't willing to put the child up for adoption once it was born – she knew the system too well and wouldn't put anyone through what she went through) but she didn't think it would be right to do something that drastic without consulting the father. Which was not something she wanted to do.

But the moment she saw the fuzzy sonogram print-out, the first picture of her son or daughter, she knew she couldn't kill it, like it was some kind or vermin or insect. Never one to have maternal instincts, Temperance was surprised at the surge of love and affection she had felt, hitting her like a tidal wave.

Then her more practical side had taken over. With her books doing so well, she was in a stable financial position and could afford to have a baby. She was young and healthy, so it wouldn't be a strain on her body. She would, of course, need a bigger place to live. And what about childcare? As far as she knew (but she had never had reason to check before now) the Jeffersonian didn't have a childcare facility, and it was against every anthropological law of nature to let someone else look after your offspring. And there was no way she could give up her job. 'Would I love my child more than my job?' she thought. This thought scared her a lot. She had never loved anything more than her job, but already she was feeling a strong bond between her and 'the bump' – she had always heard pregnant women on TV referring to their ever-expanding stomachs as this, but had never quite understood what it meant until she began to imagine her own belly growing. The prospect of buying new clothes was one that she wasn't looking forward to. Shopping had never been her strong point, and she didn't want to end up looking like a fat woman in a tent. She would have to enlist Angela to help her with that.

But first she would have to tell Angela. And Zack and Hodgins. And Cam. And possibly Dr Goodman to request some kind of maternity leave. And then, of course, she would have to tell Booth.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Evening all! Chapter 2 is up well before I expected (I know I promised many of you it would be the weekend) but I just had so much fun I couldn't help myself! But anyway, here is chapter 2, enjoy! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

She could see the baby now. At least five feet long, but still with a lot of room to float around inside her. She felt a surge of fear as she realised she'd have to give birth to this…this thing. And she could see Booth – looking at her with disgust, his face oddly contorted as if she was looking at him through frosted glass. Then the baby started screaming and Booth turned away…

* * *

Temperance Brennan woke up in a cold sweat, her head raised slightly off the desk where it had rested as she slept. Without thinking, she reached down to put her hand on her stomach. Still as flat as hit had been two months ago – there was no way there was a five-foot baby in there. But the look on Booth's face in her dream still tormented her.

She knew she had to tell him about the baby, but she just hadn't found the right time. And there was still a tiny part of her that hoped that she wasn't pregnant. Being a scientific person, she had taken three pregnancy tests – if one was positive, but one was negative, she would use the third as a control. But all three had been positive. It was against her nature to not believe something when presented with evidence, but she really hoped it wasn't true. What would she do with a baby? She had never held a baby (if you didn't count the remains of the babies from Afghanistan) and she didn't have the slightest clue how to go about feeding one. How much did they eat, anyway? And how often?

These were the questions that Booth knew the answer to. He already had Parker, so he had to know what to do. But how would he react when she told him he was going to be a father again?

* * *

She wouldn't have to wait long to find out. No sooner had she left her office and walked out into the lab, greeted by the sound of Zack and Hodgins having an argument about how 'dirt' was a word that meant nothing, Booth walked around the corner and into her line of vision. He smiled and she froze, rooted to the spot. 'Oh, God,' she thought, 'what am I going to do?'

But she just turned around and walked back in the direction she has just come from.

"Hey, Bones! Where you going?"

"Ummm…Bathroom!" She wasn't really lying. Since she had found out she was pregnant, she needed to pee all the time. Before she knew, however, she didn't. She assumed it was a subconscious thing – on TV all pregnant women talked about needing to pee, so know she was, she would think something was wrong if she didn't need it too.

And as for cravings, the only weird food she liked was brussel sprouts, but she liked them even before she was pregnant.

"Bones?" she heard him yell after her.

They had been very drunk when their baby had been conceived. So drunk she didn't remember it, and she wasn't sure if he did either – he hadn't said anything to her about it, but he was probably just avoiding the subject. Their relationship was complicated enough, without sex being thrown into the equation. But a baby would complicate things even more, if that was even possible. They could argue about any topic under the sun, and both of them enjoyed it just a little bit.

It had started at Wong Foo's. The alcohol didn't seem to stop flowing, and it was 3 am. by the time they stumbled outside into the street to hail cabs back to their homes. Booth had managed to hail one and got in, but for some reason Bones climbed in after him. He didn't object, and before they knew it they were kissing. And then she was in his bed. She couldn't remember the details. And the next morning they both just acted like it had never happened, which hurt Temperance a little more than she would let anyone know.

But now here she was leaning against one the sinks in the ladies restroom, wondering how to tell him. She had never been one to run away from her problems, but right now she felt like locking herself in a cubicle and never coming out again.

Tears began to run down her cheeks. She decided that she wasn't upset, just hormonal. A baby couldn't be _that _hard to look after, and she surmised that she could do it alone. And she would have Angela to help her occasionally, and she may even trust Zack sometimes. She wasn't completely alone.

At that moment, Angela herself came into the ladies room. Seeing her best friend stood there crying, she rushed over to comfort her.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?"

She sniffed and dabbed at her eyes with a paper towel Angela had handed her, then said, "It's nothing, really I'm fine…"

"Don't lie to me, Brennan; I know when something is wrong,"

Angela sighed and looked at her.

"Angela…If your friend told you she was pregnant, what would you do?"

"Why? Who's pregnant? Is it Olivia from archaeology? I knew she was a dark horse…"

"Angela!" Bones cut her off, "No, it's me. I'm pregnant."

Saying it out loud made the whole thing seem more real to her. She suddenly felt a surge of fear run through her – she couldn't cope on her own, she couldn't get Angela to help out, Angela probably knew less than her about babies, and Booth would never speak to her again. How was it fair for her baby to grow up without a father?

"You? But you don't even have a boyfriend!"

"I know that. Pigs and wolves are the only other monogamous mammals, but in this day and age it's quite common for single women of my age to want a baby and do so but unconventional means."

"What? You used a sperm donor?"

"No! No, it's not like that."

"Well what then? I can't believe you would do something this drastic without consulting me – your best friend!"

This was not working out the way she had planned. She thought Angela would be supportive, but instead she seemed mad. It's not as if she had slept with Booth with the intention of getting pregnant. More importantly, was that how _he_ would see it?


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Hey everyone! I've really appreciated all of the reviews! Here is chapter 3 - and if anyone has any ideas for baby names, they would be most helpful...I'm liking Emily for a girl of David for a boy, just as a kind of joke but give me your ideas! Enjoy!

She could hear him breathing next to her – slow and steady, his nose whistling slightly – she knew he was suffering from a cold. He would inhale sharply sometimes, which she found a bit annoying, but she didn't have a tissue to offer him. It was the only noise in the silence of the room.

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She normally found forensics seminars incredibly fascinating and was very rarely bored, but today she just couldn't focus. The paper she was meant to be making notes on was covered in doodles of trees and pyramids instead of her usual sprawling handwriting.

Temperance looked over at Booth sitting next to her. She wasn't exactly sure why he had come along. On the other side of her was Zack – now he was coming to the end of his degree he barely left her side for fear he might miss something vital to his future career that he hadn't noticed before in all of the time he had been working with her.

She looked up at the professor giving the lecture, trying with all her might to concentrate. She usually found listening to her peers comforting – she found comfort in the facts that she already knew. Feeling something drop on her lap, she looked over at Zack, who was still intently scribbling notes.

The piece of paper was crumpled into a ball. She opened it out, and recognised Booth's writing:

'_I'm bored – why aren't you taking notes? Have you seen the guy in front's dandruff? Hilarious!'_

This was her chance to tell him about the baby. Yes, he was hot-headed, but it was very unlikely he would make a scene in front of all these people.

She began to write back with a shaky hand:

'_Booth – I'm pregnant.'_

A few seconds later, another note bounced off her knee and fell to the floor. She bent to pick it up:

'_Jokes aren't your strong point, Bones. If you have to explain, it's not funny – would you mind explaining?'_ He had drawn a confused looking face next to the message.

She had been foolish to think it would be so easy. She leaned over to him and whispered in his ear, "I'm pregnant, Booth…You're the father."

She had been able to hear his breathing as she leaned close to him. Now she couldn't. Looking at his face and noticing his expression, she thought he looked like he had been hit with a wet fish. After a few seconds, his breathing continued again, only rapidly and more laboured.

'Oh, God,' she thought, 'I've given him a heart attack – now my baby won't have a dad.' She poked him with her pen, and the stunned look was replaced with one of a man who is trying to work out a complicated math problem.

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

When they were finally outside, the colour returned to Booth's face. Temperance told Zack to go and wait in the car, and he did so without asking questions. When she was sure he was round the corner, she turned to Booth and asked, "Are you OK?"

"Um…I…Yeah. A baby?"

She looked at him and laughed. "No, a goat…Yes a baby!"

He smiled weakly.

"If you don't want to be a part of it I understand. No one knows except Angela, and she thinks I bought some random guy's sperm on Ebay."

Now he looked shocked, and maybe even a little hurt.

"Oh course I want to be a part of it! I'm not just going to let you do it all on your own!"

She felt a huge surge of relief. She had been sure she would have been forced into single mother-hood, but the fact that he wasn't going to let that happen made her feel very happy, and for the first time she was glad she was having this baby.

Before she had time to react, he had put his arms round her and was giving her a hug. She felt all her worries leaving her, and was so overwhelmed she started to cry.

"Bones, it's going to be OK. I'm going to take care of you and the baby. Don't worry; everything is going to be fine."

He hugged her some more. She sobbed some more. He comforted her some more.

She said into his chest, "We forgot about Zack. He's probably wondering where we are."

"He's probably not even noticed."

They both laughed, and started walking back to the car, Booth still with his arm around her waist.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N G'day fellow Bones fans! Trying to post this chapter has nearly killed me, but I've finally managed it! Just a short one to fill in a few gaps and make the transition to the more interesting parts of the story...but read and enjoy...and don't forget to review! They really do make me happy! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

The ride back to the Jeffersonian was interesting, to say the least. Booth wanted to discuss Temperance's pregnancy, but she had made him promise not to say anything to anyone about it, which made talking about it difficult. Especially when Zack was in the car too. Even though, much like Temperance herself, her assistant was not so good at reading between the lines or taking hints. Booth knew this all too well.

"So this...uh...this...thing," he began, "How long have you known about it?"

"I told you, I wasn't willing to discuss this right now," she replied, throwing a quick glance at Zack in the back seat, who was oblivious to the conversation going on and found re-reading his notes much more interesting.

"Well when would you like to discuss it? We sort of have a time limit, you know? If you wait, oh I don't know, say _nine months _before you're ready to talk about it, then it will be to late."

Zack had to have picked up on that one. She looked behind her, and saw him still with his head down, caught up in what he was doing. If they started talking about him he probably wouldn't even notice. She looked back at Booth.

"I've known about for about two weeks. I have had it...uh...confirmed. Officially."

"What about unofficially?" He wasn't really sure what that meant, but asked anyway. Sometimes he hated that she was smarter than him.

"Yeah, me and Angela...It was positive." Even after showing her the sonogram picture, Angela still wanted Temperance to do a pregnancy test. She had said it was an important moment, and since she hadn't been informed straight away about the baby, she thought it was only fair if she got to see her do the test. So after work they went to the pharmacy, went back to Angela's place and did another test.

"What was positive?" Zack was now leaning forwards eagerly awaiting an answer. She felt sick, and almost needed to roll down the window and lean out, but she composed herself in time for Zack to ask again.

"You didn't let me finish. I mean it was positively fine. An easy test." What was she talking about? This baby was making her crazy.

"What test? Positively fine?"

"That's what she said, Zack, now lets leave it, shall we?" Booth wasn't sure what she was saying either, and as he reached out to turn on the radio she gave him a thankful look.

The rest of the journey was spent in silence, with Temperance staring straight ahead out of the windscreen.

* * *

As soon as Temperance got into her office, Angela was sitting behind the desk looking at a pregnancy magazine.

"I got you a present." she said, holding it up and waving it at her. "How did it go? Did you tell him?"

"Yes, I told him..."

"And? Did he freak? Or was he cool about it? He wasn't was he, I knew he wouldn't be, are you OK?"

"He didn't 'freak' but he wasn't exactly 'cool' about it. We haven't had chance to really talk about it yet. And I'm fine. Although I think Zack might know."

Angela laughed. Even if she had shouted 'I'm pregnant' in the middle of the conference, Zack wouldn't have noticed. He might have only had an inkling if she had said gestation.

"It's not funny. You know he can't keep his mouth shut, and I don't think I want everyone knowing just yet." Temperance took the magazine, and looked at the page Angela had been looking at. It had an article about the benefits of breast-feeding and an advert for Baby Gap. She couldn't really see why so many women thought baby clothes were cute and squealed at a very high pitch whenever they were presented with a pair of booties – they were just small versions of normal clothes. And was it really necessary for them to be so overpriced? In some places she had seen (although she didn't want to admit to herself that she had been looking in shops selling baby things) the clothes were the same price as the adult versions. And maternity clothes weren't exactly cheap either.

"Aren't they cute? We will have to go shopping soon, so you're gonna have to find out whether you're having a boy or a girl."

"I'm making another appointment with my doctor as soon as I get home. But I don't want to know what I'm having. I'd like it to be a surprise."

"Well how can we buy cute little dresses or dungarees if we don't know what we're having?"

"We? Are you going to give birth for me? Are you going to feed it in the middle of the night? Change it, bathe it?"

"No, I'm just excited about this! Aren't you? When you were a little girl, didn't you want a little sister to dress up or to brush her hair or ...?"

"Am I having a baby or a doll? It's going to be hard work, not all fun and games."

"Well you're the mother, so you can do the hard stuff and I'll do the fun stuff – like shopping. Want me to come to the doctor's with you?" Angela found it best to change the subject at this point – whenever she got into a heated discussion with Temperance, she always lost.

"Yes please. I don't want to go alone, but it's not like I can really ask Booth."

"Can't ask me what?" Booth himself put his head around the door as soon as she had said it.

"To go to the doctor's with her. She doesn't want to go alone."

"Angela!" She always did this, she always blurted out what Temperance didn't want people knowing. Now there would be an uncomfortable silence and Booth would say he had some work to do and...

"Sure. I'll go with you," he said, "You're not scared are you?" He was joking, but when she didn't answer right away, he quickly said, "So what time is your appointment?"

"I...I don't know, I haven't made one yet. You don't have to come with me, it's fine."

"Bones, I want to go with you."

"Oh. OK. Thank you." She was right, it was awkward.

And thank you, Angela, you always know just what to say...


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Hey all! Thanks for all the reviews they are so important to me! Here it is, chapter 5, I hope you enjoy it! Sorry for the mushy ending but I think it needed it after all the heavy Bones introspective stuff. I really hope you like it! As always R and R. This will be the last chapter for a while as I'm going on hiatus while I do exams, so the next chapter will be up sometime in late June. In the meantime you can be thinking of baby names! And this is just a little 'author insight' but the name that Bones suggests near the end is actually my grandmother's middle name. No one knows why... But yeah, I digress, so enjoy! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

"There is no way – no way – that I'm letting you call our baby Tibia!"

Even though there was no one they knew in the doctor's waiting room, at this time during the early afternoon filled with the elderly or young women with children, Temperance still didn't feel comfortable discussing her pregnancy with Booth. She was still terrified someone would overhear, and she hated not being in control of a situation. If people found out before she was ready to tell them, she thought she might just die.

But hearing him say it, _our baby_, just made it seem more real and the fear seem more and more prominent.

"Why would I do that?" she asked him, hoping he was kidding her, and that he didn't really think of her as just 'the weird bone lady'.

"Because you're Bones. Bones are your thing."

"Doesn't mean I'd name a child after a bone."

This was a subject Angela was very keen on discussing. Baby names. She had gone out and bought a book full of weird and wonderful names, and taken it to work to show Temperance. They were the first ones at the lab, so the two of them spent about fifteen minutes looking over it, but mostly just pointing out the ridiculous names, before they hurriedly put the book away when Hodgins came in. If it had been Zack, they wouldn't have bothered, because even after Angela almost let the cat out of the bag, he still hadn't realised, and they had altogether given up on being subtle around him.

The real challenge had been when everyone had met up at Wong Foo's – Bones, Angela, Booth, Zack and Hodgins. Never normally one to pass up on an alcoholic drink, it took a sharp look from Angela's direction before she had realised she had ordered a glass of wine. It sat on the table untouched for the remainder of the evening, but no one really noticed. She almost didn't expect them to – even though they were her only close friends, it was just she and Angela who were really close. And that's how it had been her whole life. So to them everything was absolutely normal, to them she was the same old focused and work-obsessed Brennan, they had no idea just how terrified her impending motherhood made her, how she hated not being in control of this one aspect of her life, how she found it so difficult to concentrate for a few moments before her thoughts drifted to horror stories of giving birth and breast feeding. Babies were all she had thought about for what seemed like an eternity, and the fact that she had actually slept with Booth had never actually entered into her mind – at first she was too embarrassed to think about it, then when she found out she was pregnant she hadn't had the time to, as mad as that sounded.

Temperance suddenly felt incredibly embarrassed, and in her head could see herself blushing – _Booth had seen her naked! _The full reality of their situation had just struck her, as if she was standing on the tracks and a train had hit her head on. Thankfully, before she could get up and run away, the nurse called her name into the relative silence of the waiting room, that had been previously punctuated only by coughs and sneezes.

"That's you." Booth said.

"I know...You look nervous, maybe you should wait here?"

"No way! I said I'd come with you, and that's what I'm going to do. Let's go. And just so you know, I'm not nervous. Just want to make sure everything's OK. Although this whole thing doesn't quite seem real yet."

The fact that he felt the same way she did made her feel better. Sort of.

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Brennan and Booth were back in the waiting room of the doctor's office. Everything had gone fine with the scan, and now they were just waiting for the print out of the ultrasound – something he was more excited about than her, as she had already seen a picture from her first scan. She still remembered the fear she had felt sitting in the same room, possibly even in the same chair, all on her own before she had told anyone that she was pregnant. Even though Booth knew now, she still felt fear, but it was more of an uncertainty. He had told her that he would be around to help her out, to be their for their child, so that he or she never had to feel alone like Temperance had as a kid, but who could be sure if he really meant it. Of course, it was a quaint notion (although obviously this wouldn't be a traditional set-up) but he couldn't be expected to put his life on hold for her. He was an attractive man, and eventually he would meet someone else, they would get married and have their own children – the type of relationship that she knew he _really_ wanted – and Temperance and the baby would be forgotten, visited once a week like they were something to be ashamed of. That was the last thing she wanted.

But before she could torment herself with thoughts of the future anymore, he grabbed her hand.

"Bones, we need to talk about our...situation."

"What about it?"

"What abou...?" he began, exasperated. "What about it? How about the fact that we are soon going to be parents, or the fact that there are so many things we need to work out? And how we are going to go about telling people?"

He leant forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his head in his hands. A sigh escaped his mouth.

"OK, we can talk about it after we're done here. You want to get coffee?"

"Whatever. I can't believe I'm about to have another child out of wedlock..." He sighed again, and looked away. He hadn't been meaning to say it, but the words had just fallen from his mouth.

"So that's what this is about? I don't mean to disappoint you, but I'm not going to marry you just so you feel better."

"I'm not asking you to..."

"But this is going to be different than it is with Parker. You can see the baby whenever you want, believe me after a while no doubt I will be sick of looking after it. And I will make sure you get a say in everything, I won't make a major decision without asking you first. I might actually let you have a say in the name. For the record, I like the name Newton. Boy or girl."

He smiled that smile that she thought he only used on her. He had his 'I know you killed him and now I'm trying to get you to crack' smile, and his 'I'm going to find the person who did this ma'am' smile, and his 'for God's sake, Angela, stop flirting with me' smile. But this was his 'Temperance you are awesome' smile. It was basically the same as all the others, but wider with more teeth.

"Thanks Bones."

They both looked at each other for a few seconds, neither able to look away, before a nurse came over with the scan print outs.

Booth stared at his with a looked of amazement on his face. He had looked the same way in the side room, as she lay on the bed with her shirt over her stomach, both of their eyes glued on the screen in front of them.

After what seemed like years, he finally said; "This is going straight into my wallet!"


	6. Chapter 6

A/N OK, you guys should all really LOVE me right now...I started this chapter on the night before my French oral exam, so if I have failed it's your fault! The second section thingy is based on an event that occurred before I want in for the exam, where I basically had a meltdown (read on, it will explain everything). And I can tell you now, the next chapter is gonna be a doozy - and I should know, because I've already written it. Now you really should love me because it will be up very very soon. So read, review, spread the love, and if you really love me you will visit Madeline McCann's website. She's a little girl from England who was abducted from Portugal a few weeks ago - lets all hope she makes it home soon! But anyway, enjoy, and leave me love! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

Tinned peaches. For Temperance, this was the cause of some worry. On the way back from the doctor's office, she thought she might have become unconscious or zoned out for a while, because before she had realised it, she was in the checkout queue at her local supermarket buying ten tins of the stuff. Whatever had possessed her to buy it hadn't gone away – she sat at home now in the middle of the living room floor, legs crossed and in her pyjamas, eating the vile things straight out of the tin. Hadn't even been able to wait until she had put them into a bowl, she just dove right in and began eating. The only time she had ever remembered eating them before was when she went camping with her parents – years ago, when she was about nine years old – and she had almost thrown up after eating them. She hadn't expected the syrup to be quite as tooth-achingly sweet, and gulped it down like it was water. Big mistake. She didn't even like normal peaches. And even now, even after all of the gross foods she had eaten in strange and exotic countries, she still couldn't help feeling like she was eating goldfish. She ate them regardless – she was quite possibly the most strong-headed woman in the world, but even _she_ succumbed to cravings.

The phone starting ringing from the table in the hall. Somewhat reluctantly, she put down her tin and spoon on the floor and pulled herself onto her feet. The floor was cold, and her footsteps echoed in the otherwise quiet house – the way she liked it when she was trying to unwind, but now the shrill ringing of the phone had totally distracted her from her relaxation technique (which had now been modified from normal calming breathing and meditation, to include 'pick up spoon, get slice of peach on spoon, put spoon in mouth, and repeat.')

"Hello?"

"_Bren, it's Angela...I've had another brainwave..."_

Temperance groaned. She knew she was about to be bombarded with more baby name suggestions. She considered hanging up.

"I'm kinda busy right now, Ange, can I ring you back?"

"_This'll only take a second: How about the name 'London'?"_

"How about no?"

"_Sweetie, I thought you were interested in other cultures..."_

"That's not a culture..."

"_Whatever, just consider it, please? Can you imagine it, little London Brennan?"_

"Have you ever been to London? It sounds like an underground station, and I don't want to associate my child with the smell of urine and vomit, thank you."

"_Fine. How about Rain?"_

"Oh God, someone's at the door. I really have to go Angela, I'll speak to you tomorrow."

She hung up. She had more than enough time to choose a name, although it was at a time like this she almost wished she was going to be a single mother – on the way out of the doctor's office, Booth had suggested the name Woodrow...

* * *

The cafeteria of the Jeffersonian was packed full of scientists in their white or blue lab coats. In the nine or so years that she had worked there, Temperance had never once eaten in there. She had only ventured down there today because she was being dragged by Zack, who had been incessantly chattering in her direction about an interesting fracture in an ulna that had been sent to them from Texas – she hadn't even been listening, just saying encouraging things in the rights places. Her lack of concentration had shocked her, and many of her co-workers, but she had just told them that she wasn't feeling one hundred percent today. And right now she wasn't. The smell of the food made her want to retch, and the noise from all of the people made her head spin and start pounding.

"Are you feeling OK, Dr Brennan?" Zack asked her as they got in the queue.

"I'm fine." Lies...

After about five minutes, they reached the counter where a burly woman stood clad in a white apron and cap, with a frown plastered on her face. It was obvious she didn't want to be here either.

"What can I getcha?"

Temperance thought for a moment, then said, "Do you have any baked potatoes left?"

"No sorry, they were pretty popular today. This is all we got left." The woman pointed to an industrial sized pot of stew. Just looking at it made her want to throw up, let alone eat it.

"Oh...uh..." Temperance began, getting flustered. She now knew why she never came in here. But what was so difficult about choosing what to have for lunch?

"You want it or not?" the woman said impatiently, her eyes locking on the long cue of people stretching back into the cafeteria.

The woman's harsh voice, and the sighs and stares from the hungry people behind her flustered her even more, and she couldn't think to get the words out. What was wrong with her today? She tried to mentally calm herself down, but it was all too much for her, and before she could stop it, she had screwed her face up and tears had escaped from her eyes. Talk about excessively hormonal...

"Dr Brennan? What's wrong?" a worried Zack asked, and hesitated before putting his hand on her shoulder. She could feel eyes from every angle burning onto her face, her back. She reached up to wipe her cheeks and took a deep breath. But the tears kept falling, making her more and more angry with herself.

"Just give her a plate of stew," Zack said to the woman behind the counter, who now looked at them both with a face that seemed both apologetic and slightly afraid, "she's just had a hard day, she's OK."

Taking her tray in her shaking hands, Temperance walked away in search of a table, and her assistant followed behind her. Sitting down, she dabbed at her eyes with a serviette she had picked up, and began laughing nervously.

"Zack, I am so sorry...I don't know what happened!" she was beginning to see the funny side, imagining how ridiculous she must have looked.

"You did say you weren't feeling well – even though you look great – glowing even. But maybe you should go home?"

"Oh no, I'm OK, really. Just a bit stupid." And she really felt stupid too. She really hoped this wouldn't be going round the whole lab by the end of the day. She was seen by her colleagues as being hard as nails, rarely showing emotion. She couldn't bear the thought that they may laugh at her for breaking her façade. That was really all she had, at the end of the day, to distance herself from people. And she didn't even like stew.

* * *

The rest of the day went without any other major 'hormonal incidents'. Temperance was slightly annoyed, however, at the fact that every time she saw Zack, whether it be him coming up to her so she could check his work, or her running into him outside her office, he would ask her is she was OK and give her a concerned look. She was fine, and she didn't need reminding of the fact that she was being weird.

One good thing had come from her outburst, though. Not once in about three hours had she thought about being pregnant, or buying baby things, or telling the rest of her colleagues. Although that might have had something to do with the fact that Angela had the day off. And she hadn't seen Booth for a while. She started to wonder what had happened too him shortly after work began, and he hadn't come in. Then when he still hadn't come in a few hours later, she began to get worried. Hodgins later informed her that he had rang while she was in the ladies' restroom (morning sickness isn't just for morning...) and he was taking care of Parker because he was home from school sick.

That was something Temperance had to look forward to. The issue of looking after somebody else, having responsibility over another human being. When she was younger, she had had a cat that she could barely take care of. But having a baby was hardly like having a cat. Plus, cats were well known to be fiercely independent, which babies generally weren't. You couldn't just leave a baby to clean and feed itself. But she was going to try and be as good a mother as hers had been, before she had died. And she would make sure her baby would never be left alone, or put into foster care. This baby would have everything Temperance never had when she was growing up.

Without thinking she put her hand to her stomach, which was starting to feel slightly bigger – she was naturally slim, but under her clothes (which she had started wearing slightly looser) you could definitely tell that there was something there. Her bump was kind of cute, though, in a weird way. Bigger than she thought she would be at just over four months pregnant, but then she had never done this before, none of her close friends (which was basically Angela) had children, and she didn't even have a mother to ask. Her doctor had assured her that everything was progressing normally and healthily. But she had so many questions with no one to answer them.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Thanks for all your reviews, I feel very loved. You guys are all sooooo lucky - two chapters in two days! I wrote this one in about two days, and I started the next chapter at 3pm this afternoon and finished it at 10pm! I'm amazed! This one is a major chapter, I hope y'all are prepared - although some of you have guessed what happens! So read, review, keep leaving me your love! I love you all! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

"I have another scan today, are you coming with me to this one?" Temperance asked Booth, a hint of fear evident in her voice. She didn't want to go alone, but she still felt weird asking him to go along.

"Of course. What time, I'll make sure I'm not doing anything."

"Eleven thirty. Is that OK?"

"Yeah sure. I'll pick you up from here, I got some stuff I gotta take care of."

And then he winked at her. Now was not the time for winking at her, using his charm on her, she was already pregnant with his child.

* * *

Waiting in the same doctor's office, reading the same magazine she was sure had been there the last time, Temperance sat in one of the uncomfortable chairs, made even more uncomfortable by the fact that she had to pee really badly. The doctor had told her he wanted a urine sample, so she had to wait – something she wasn't very happy about.

Booth still hadn't arrived. He had called to say he would be running late, and that she should make her own way there, but what could be keeping him? He had said he wanted to come with her, but he wasn't here.

"Temperance Brennan?" the nurse called out into the waiting area.

He still wasn't here. It wasn't like him to be late, especially for something so important. Maybe she couldn't rely on him like she thought she could. Reluctantly she pulled herself out of the chair, and walked over to the door where the nurse was hovering.

With almost perfect timing, Booth appeared through the main entrance.

"Sorry I'm late, have I missed anything?"

"No, I'm just going in now. Where were you?"

"Oh, no where. Just stuck in traffic."

* * *

After about ten minutes, the nurse performing the scan had left the room. Before she went, she said that she was going to go and find a doctor. That could only mean one thing...

"What's going on?" Temperance asked, starting to think the worst. She hadn't felt like anything was wrong, everything seemed to be progressing normally. But then she had never done this before, so she didn't really have anything to compare it to.

"I'm sure it's nothing." Booth replied, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. He squeezed her hand, attempting to comfort her, but the worry was already etched on her stern, but pretty, face.

The nurse came back in, closely followed by the doctor who had confirmed her pregnancy. He was a short, stout man, with bright red hair, marred by a bald spot on his crown. His bright blue eyes were surrounded by deep wrinkles, but his overall appearance was friendly – if not a little zany, if his fine choice of sweater was something to judge by. Seeing the worry on his patient's face, he gave her a soft smile.

"Gladys is new here," he said, nodded towards the small Chinese nurse, with an apologetic smile. "This is just a precautionary measure. We want to make sure everything is right as rain."

A few moments later, the sound of their baby's heartbeat filled the room, and Temperance had to fight to hold back the tears. Even though this was a baby neither of them was expecting, she was definitely pleased that everything was fine. She looked over at Booth – he was beaming at her, that awesome mega-watt smile, and squeezed her hand again.

The doctor moved the wand over her stomach, and settled it in another place. This time, two fuzzy-sounding heartbeats were projected into the room. Temperance's jaw dropped. The doctor chuckled, shook Booth's hand, and then said:

"Congratulations Ms Brennan, you're expecting twins!"

"Twins?"

"As in two babies?" Booth said.

"That's right!" That damned doctor was just too smiley. Temperance had to resist the urge to reach out and smack him – people like that annoyed her, especially when he was talking about something like this, that she was totally unprepared for. She should be smiling crazily, too.

"Wow..." she said, and smiled weakly. She felt numb – this hadn't really been able to sink into her brain yet.

* * *

"Baby shower!"

"What's that? Not one of those ridiculous new inventions for expectant mothers, is it?"

"No!" Angela looked at Temperance in disbelief. This was the woman who had been to Afghanistan, Iran, and some other country most people had never heard of, but she had never even heard of, or experienced, a baby shower.

"So what is it then?"

"It's a big party for new moms. There's cake, and presents, and beer for me, and games, and just general fun. And just think, the more people we invite, the more gifts you will receive. That can only be a good thing in your...condition." She had taken the news that there would be two babies for her to spoil and fuss over a lot better than the parents, and still found it funny that the woman who never wanted children, would now soon be a mother to two of them.

"So kind of like the last shot of fun before I start serving my sentence."

"Sweetie, you can't talk like that! All that negative energy isn't good for the baby. Babies."

Temperance shot her an evil stare. She was hardly in the best frame of mind to start discussing this now. She still wasn't sure if she wanted this – even though it was a bit late to do anything about it now. She was perched on the edge of her desk, but glanced down at her body, almost with a feeling of fear. Her now five months pregnant stomach seemed to loom in the space between her and Angela, her light green t-shirt stretched over it. She knew she should have got a bigger size, but wasn't planning to get _quite_ so big. But then again, she wasn't planning to have twins either.

"Go away, I'm hormonal. And I think I'm entitled to be, don't you?"

Angela decided it would be best to change the subject. "I like that skirt you're wearing, did you get that with me?"

"I sure as hell didn't go on my own."

Maternity shopping had been an..._interesting _experience, to say the least. All of the clothes were fairly neutral, a style that she normally would wear, anyway, but the sheer size of some of them made her feel quite uneasy. And this was before anyone told her just how big women having twins get. Even now, she felt like if she got any bigger she would explode, and she still had four months left to go. Less that that. She had starting by counting down the weeks, but now it had moved onto her counting the days. Ninety eight. It seemed like a long time but it really wasn't. Only fourteen weeks. Which wasn't nearly enough time for her to do everything she had been putting off – not normally one to procrastinate, she had left buying nursery furniture until now so she could paint the room, and wouldn't get paint on all the new stuff she had bought (which seemed logical). But she couldn't paint until she had had the new carpet put in for the same reason. And waiting to find out the sex of the babies was not her best idea. It meant she had to paint the room yellow, which wasn't the most restful colour (even the shade she had picked made her feel a bit dizzy), she couldn't buy proper baby clothes, and now she didn't know if she would have time to after they were born because she would be rushed off her feet.

She had spent the last couple of weekends putting the furniture together – something which Booth thought he should help with, even thought she was more than capable. Last weekend, she had folded the very few baby clothes that she already had and put them in the wardrobe (she hated being so unprepared, but she wasn't even sure this was entirely real yet), then put the two stuffed lady-bugs that Hodgins had bought the babies on the shelf, which she had had fun trying to put up by herself.

Hodgins wouldn't have bought anything, though, if Angela hadn't let the secret slip about a month and a half ago. Although in a strange way, Temperance was grateful, as it meant she hadn't had to do it herself. And she couldn't really hide it much longer. Her blue lab coat had done a good job for a lot longer than she expected, but still no one had noticed. And Zack even seemed surprised when she told them how far along she was.

And now they were being very gentlemanly, making sure she was well rested, always asking her if she wanted to sit down, or if she needed anything. The one thing that Angela hadn't told them was that Booth was the father. How they would react to that was anyone's guess.

"Brennan?"

"Sorry, Ange, I was just thinking."

"I could tell," she said, and laughed softly. "So what about this baby shower?"

"_Babies_ shower. It would be useful, I guess. Who do we invite?"

This should be good. Who did they have to invite? Temperance's only friends were the ones she worked with, and five people didn't usually equate to a festive atmosphere.

Seeing the worried look on her best friend's face, Angela quickly said, "Leave it all to me, Sweetie, I know _a lot _of people."

"No one weird."

"I promise."


	8. Chapter 8

A/N Alright my little darlings, here is another chapter for you wonderful, lovely people! I'm very very excited about this one, it's a big beast of a chapter! Take note of the genre thingy up there above this - oh yes, that's right. But Hannah, I hear you cry, this can't be! Oh but it is, my friends. But who could the romance possibly be between. Am I going to be obvious and make Seeley and Temperance succumb to their feelings, will there be some Hodgins/Angela lovin', or will this love fest be between two totally made up characters called Mindy and Tarquin? Oh-ho-ho, you will have to read on to find out! Review if you love me, or if you don't I will KILL Parker! Drastic, I know, but your reviews will keep him alive! I'm just kidding, I'm getting a high from writing. The best drug is BB FanFiction! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

"Thanks so much for coming! She's out back, go through!"

Angela was thoroughly getting into the role of gracious host for Temperance's Baby Shower. She had dressed the part – she felt a bit like a fifties house wife, but in a strange way she sort of enjoyed it – and had made the snacks herself. She wanted everything to be perfect. And so far, things had gone OK. It had been a struggle gathering enough people to make it special for Temperance (who had spent most of the party so far in the kitchen helping out with drinks, from her comfortable place on a stool), but she had eventually managed to convince a couple of people from Admin, Olivia and Jillian from archaeology, and some of Angela's more maternal friends, who actually had a child each. Zack was providing the entertainment, after trying and failing to light the barbecue but managing to almost singe his eyebrows off. Hodgins spent most of his time assisting with music, but annoying everyone when he found a classical CD hidden among Angela's mainly Pop collection.

"Right, are we ready to get cooking?" Booth said as he came in through the back door from the garden, wearing a 'kiss the cook' apron, with a chef's hat perched at a jaunty angle on his head. It was three in the afternoon, but he already had a beer in his had.

"It's amazing how many clichés you've managed to fit in there, Seeley." Temperance said when she saw him. "All you need now is a bad moustache."

"I'm saving that for when the kids are here. Getting ready to be the world's most embarrassing Dad."

"That won't really take effect until they're teenagers." Hodgins said as he came into the room, and laughed at him. Zack laughed along, too, but only because he knew the man much bigger than him was unarmed.

"I still remember when my old man came to Parent-Teacher night in his slippers..." This caused the whole room, in which all of the guests had now congregated, to burst out laughing at the image. The whole atmosphere, especially between the two soon-to-be parents, seemed less tense. She was getting over her unfounded embarrassment towards him, although she still felt like this whole thing was almost an inconvenience to him.

"Are you going to get cooking sometime today, Booth, Temperance _is_ eating for three now!"

* * *

"I feel bad at accepting all of those gifts. I hardly know any of those people."

"If they cared enough to come, the least they could do was bring gifts. Those basket thingys full of clothes and stuff...with those tiny little socks, did you see them?"

"They are called layettes. And yeah, they were so small! It's hard to imagine they'll be here soon."

"I know...It seems like yesterday you told me about them. I'm surprised that I didn't faint, to be totally honest."

"Me too."

There was an uncomfortable silence, that seemed to stretch out of the windscreen and into the cold night air. She was behind the wheel of her car, which she could barely fit in now, driving him home. He never let her drive before, but she guessed he was only doing it now because she soon wouldn't be able to wedge herself into the driver's seat.

"Make a left here." he said, a split second after she had started to turn.

"Yeah, I know."

A few minutes later, after more silence, she pulled into his driveway. The house was dark except for the light hanging from the roof of the porch, over the door, which cast a warm glow out onto the lawn. It looked freshly mowed, and she could imagine him out there every Sunday, after he'd washed his car but before he got ready to take Parker back to his mother.

"OK, this is my stop. I'm really glad you're letting me be part of all this, Temperance. Its really great. Better than great." he smiled that smile at her. "See you at work."

He went to open his door, but stopped, turned in his seat and kissed her on the lips. She was stunned, and it took her a moment to realise what had happened. By that time, it was all over and he was just sitting there looking at her, while she looked back at him, her mouth and eyes wide. She had just managed to get her thoughts gathered, when he kissed her again.

"Bye then."

"Wait!" she said, "What was that?" Inside she was screaming.

"Goodbye kiss." he said simply and shrugged, as if it was the most logical thing in the world.

"Well the last time that happened, this happened!" She gestured to her bump.

"Are we going to sit in my driveway all night, or can I go inside?"

She nodded feebly, and turned to stare straight out ahead of her, at his white garage door. She heard the door slam, his footsteps up the path, and his his front door opening. She didn't understand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him look back at her, and he _waved_, then went inside. She heard the door close behind him, and then she was alone again. Alone except for the bump.

What just happened? She was so confused...

* * *

Angela rolled over onto her stomach, and spread her arms out in her otherwise empty bed. Sunday mornings were her favourite part of the week (unless she was hungover) because it meant she had the whole day to plan the next weeks after-work activities. And that usually meant sleeping till noon, having a lazy brunch, then chilling out with her day planner and the notepad she normally kept by the phone, on which she wrote down all her messages and party invites. The day ended with her taking a long, hot bath with a glass of wine in her hand.

But this morning was different. She rolled over again, her sleep-clouded mind tried to decipher what it was that had woken her up, and looked at the clock on her night stand. It definitely wasn't anywhere near noon. Her eyes focused on the phone next to it, when she realised that it's shrill ringing had roused her from her sleep.

"Hello?"

"_Ange? It's me..."_

She groaned. She was always glad to hear from Brennan, but not always this early in the morning.

"Sweetie, it's seven thirty. What's wrong?"

"_Um...I need your help."_

"What, what is it? Is it the babies, do you think you're going into labour? Temperance?"

"_No, no nothing like that, it's...Booth kissed me."_

"Yeah, I know. You did a lot more than that, too. You're carrying his children right now, remember?"

"_No, I don't mean then...I mean yesterday. Last night. Ange?"_

She had dropped the phone, and was crawling out of bed to pluck it from where it had landed on the floor. She had to have heard that wrong. It almost sounded like 'Booth hit me', which to be honest was slightly less outrageous (everyone felt like hitting her at some point, she just had an innocent way of getting to people). But kissed...

"Yeah I'm still here, you wanna run that by me again?"

"_He kissed me. I'm not sure why."_

"Well did he say anything?"

"_That he was glad I was letting him be part of everything. And then he did it."_

"OK. Maybe he wants you guys to raise the kids properly – have the house with the white picket fence, and the dog, and be on the PTA."

"_I don't know what that means."_

"Temperance," she said, then sighed, "You know him and Parker's mother never had the whole 'family unit' thing. Maybe he wants that with you. Do you think you want that too?"

"_I don't need him. I can do this by myself."_

"Can you? I don't mean with my help, of course I'll help out as much as I can, but I'm not their dad. You know what it's like not to have a proper family, do you want that for your babies?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. She was definitely thinking about it, which could only be a good thing. But Temperance had a tendency to over think things, and just once Angela wished she would just throw caution to the wind, and go with her heart instead of her head. She had done that before, when she had slept with Booth, and just look at her now – she was about to have two babies, she was glowing. If she ignored the voice in her head telling her to do the smart thing, who knows how much happier she could be. And the voice wasn't always right – having a relationship with him was definitely the smart thing to do in this case.

"_Of course I don't. Do you really think that's what he wants?"_

"How long have we all been working together? Of course it's what he wants! Any man would be mad not to want to be with you, Sweetie. Trust me...It's what he wants."

"_OK. I'll talk to him about it."_

Angela groaned again. "No, don't do that. Let him talk to you."

"_Well what if he doesn't bring it up?"_

"He will. And you better tell him you want to be a family! Because you know if you don't, I'll snap him up!"

"_OK. Thanks, Ange."_

"You're welcome, Sweetie. I'll speak to you later."

She hung up. Sometimes, she thought she could do well in a career as a life coach.

A/N Part Deux So there we have it, dear readers! Where ever will this lead? I really just don't know! (Actually, that's a lie, I've already finished the next chapter!) Also, what do people think about changing the title of this delightful story (just blowing my own horn now aren't I!) because I hadn't actually planned for them to have TWO babies, so the title implies she is having one baby...or should I keep it the same so that future readers can get the thrill of discovering the plot unfold? Tell me what you think!


	9. Chapter 9

A/N Hey everyone, this is short stupid chapter, I hate it. I also really don't want to do this story anymore, I'm somewhat disheartened. So yeah. Great.

After hanging up the phone with Angela, Temperance sat back down on her living room sofa, where she had been sitting since five o'clock that morning. She hadn't been able to sleep at all, her mind was racing and every time she thought back to the previous evening she felt a bit sick.

Booth had kissed her. And then he acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. Angela had told her to talk it over with him, but maybe they should have done that last night – then maybe she would have got some sleep. She felt almost angry with him for just getting out of the car, without putting her mind at rest. Especially since she was so hormonal. Maybe she should call him...

Almost as soon as she had thought it, the phone still beside her from her conversation with Angela began to ring. She stared at it for a while before picking it up, realising that the noise would stop once she did so.

"Hello?" she said, after bringing it close to her ear with shaking hands. If it was Booth, she would...

"_Hi, it's me. Booth." _As if she couldn't tell from his voice. They had been working together for how long now?

"Oh...Hi."

"_You OK?"_

"Yeah, I guess."

"_Good."_

Why wasn't he saying anything? She was meant to let him do the talking, otherwise she would mess things up, but she couldn't just sit here all day.

"Did you need something?"

"_Huh? Oh, no, I just wanted to talk to you."_

"About?"

"_Last night. You remember?"_

Of course she remembered!

"Um, yes." Now she felt like talking, and also she wanted to hear him say it, what she wanted to hear – that he wanted to be with her, be a family. Everything that Angela had said he would. She just wanted everything to be normal, she didn't want a complicated relationship with him. "What was that? I don't understand what happened!"

"_I believe I kissed you, Temperance. But if I offended you or something, I'm so sorry, it didn't mean anything..."_

"How can you say that?! It obviously meant something!"

"_I know, I was just saying that because I didn't want you to worry about it."_

"Well maybe you should have thought of that before you just left me sitting in my car!"

"_I'm sorry, but I couldn't think of what to say to you. Are you mad?"_

"No. I didn't mind, really." She smiled into the receiver, at heard him laugh at the other end of the line.

"_That's good. You're not offended either?"_

"Why would I be offended? It's a bit late for all that, don't you think?"

"_Yeah. So what to we do now?"_

"You want to go get something to eat. The twins are hungry."

"_Sure, I'll pick you up. Do you think you can be ready in twenty minutes?"_

"Just give me time to pee, I don't need to do anything else. I've been awake for about three hours already."

"_Cause of me?"_

"Yeah. So I think you should pay for breakfast."

"_OK, I'm sorry."_

"It's fine, I'm a morning person anyway. See you soon."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

When she got into his car to drive to the diner near her house, he greeted her with another kiss. It still shocked her – because she hadn't been expecting it, and because it still felt kind of weird. Not that he wasn't got at it, he definitely was, but she was never going to get used to it.

For the whole journey, Temperance couldn't keep the smile off her face, and every time she stole a glance at him, he was beaming too. Everything felt right.

"OK, we're here, Smiley."

She looked at him and giggled. Temperance Brennan actually _giggled_. But if this was the kind of effect he was going to have on her, then so be it. She was happy. Both of them got out of the car, and he took her hand to lead her inside.

"Right, I'm paying, so you can get whatever you want. All three of you." he said with a grin. It was never going to get old that she was having his twins, that him and Temperance were going to be a family. He'd shout it from the rooftops, but he didn't think she'd appreciate that. Not yet, anyway. He knew she still wasn't entirely sure about the whole thing, but she wasn't alone any more. He was always going to help her out, but now they could do it together.

"I think we want pancakes."

They were ushered over to a table near the window by a tired and stressed looking waitress. Her name tag said Grace, but she didn't look like she was in a particularly good mood. Booth scoured the menu, and tried to narrow down the choices – bacon and eggs, or porridge. This diner was famed for its porridge, but he could smell the bacon already and it was making his mouth water. He looked up to ask Temperance if she was ready to order, but she was already looking at him, a smile plastered on her face.

"What?"

"Nothing. Everything's fine."

And everything really was.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N Hello dear, sweet readers! How are we all? I hope life is treating you good, you fabulous people! No, I'm not high, just so very glad to be back and feeling better about things. I've missed you all muchly! Right, I have a new motto for this story - 'do not start a situation that you then resolve in the same chapter'. OK, so it needs some re-wording, but basically there will be more suspencefulness in these chapters. This may annoy some people, but nevermind if you want to find out what happens you will need to keep reading! Yay! But this one isn't really suspenceful until the end, just a transitional chapter, mainly because I forgot what was going to happen. OK, ramble over, I hope everyone is all comfortable and has a beverage and/or snack. I hope everyone has had a bathroom break. I hope you are ready! Here we go! Yay!

"OK, Zack, what have we got here?"

"Caucasian female, approximately 4 feet 10 inches tall. Cause of death looks to be a blow to the head, but that's just an observation, I'll know more once I've looked over the skull in more detail."

He stood on one side of the big steel table, and Temperance stood on the other, clipboard in hand. She had to angle her body so that when she looked down, she didn't just see her stomach, and could actually make sure he was doing everything right. He was, of course – this was his final proficiency, before he gave his oral presentation of his findings to a team of professors. Then his degree would be completed, and he would take up a job somewhere, and she would get a new assistant. She imagined she would feel like this when the twins were old enough to go to university. She would definitely miss him. He was more than a student now – he was a colleague, but he was a friend, too.

"You're doing great, Zack."

"That's because I have a great teacher."

That made her want to cry. She could never normally accept compliments, but in her 'excessively hormonal' state, she had to fight to hold back the tears whenever someone said something nice to her.

"I can't give you more marks for flattery. So quit trying."

"Sorry, Dr Brennan."

Angela came out of her office and walked towards them, carrying a large box, presumably containing more supplies for facial reconstructions.

"Hey you two, having fun?"

"Tons." Zack replied shorty, obviously unable to cope with the distraction.

"Sorry..." Angela replied, and grabbed Temperance by the arm so they could talk somewhere else without disturbing him.

"He's worried he's going to fail."

"He'll be fine. How's things going with you and your boyfriend?"

Temperance smiled, and said, "He's fine, thanks for asking." Referring to Booth as her boyfriend felt weird, but really good.

"Fabulous. Will he be joining us today to do some work?"

"I don't know, probably."

"Well where is he, then?"

"I saw him this morning when I left for work..."

"I'm sure you did." Angela interrupted with a smirk.

"What's in the box, Ange?" Changing the subject was always best in this kind of situation. She wasn't even entirely sure what she was insinuating, but didn't really want to pursue it and find out.

"Just stuff. Maybe you should ring him?"

"What stuff?"

"Secret stuff. Ring him now."

"Why?"

"It's not fair that we're doing all the work...and he sort of promised me he'd help with the secret stuff."

"What are you two up to?"

"Nothing!"

"You just said he was helping you with secret stuff, so you must me doing something!"

"No. Call him, please."

"Fine." Temperance sighed and took her phone out of her pocket, dialled his number and waited for him to pick up.

"_Hello?"_ He answered, then yawned.

"Hi, it's me. Did I wake you?"

"_Yeah, why are you calling me so early?"_

"It's ten thirty..."

"_Crap! How did I manage to oversleep?" _She heard him roll out of bed, and then heard a commotion in the background.

"What are you doing?"

"_Damn cat unplugged my alarm clock."_

"You have a cat?"

"_Yeah, his name is Cat. Well, he's Parker's really. I knew I shouldn't have let a 3 year old name a pet."_

"Angela is getting impatient, she told me about your 'secret stuff'. What time will you be here?"

"_Soon. I will rush, just for you."_

"OK, good, because she is distracting Zack." She quickly glanced over to where Angela was standing, hovering over his shoulder, watching what he was doing. Zack let out a profanity under his breath, something he rarely did, and went to swat her hand away as she reached out to touch the skull on the table.

"_OK, see you soon."_

_- - - - - - - - - - - - - _

Half an hour had passed, and Booth still hadn't arrived. Temperance hadn't actually noticed, until Angela came in, looking more impatient that ever and demanding to know what was keeping him.

"I don't know, he said he would rush."

"Well he's done a good job of that, hasn't he." She started pacing again, as she had before, the box still sitting idly on the desk.

"Ange, if you wear a whole in my carpet you can buy me a new one. He's probably just stuck in traffic."

"Are you not worried at all?"

"Should I be?" Now she was worried. Thousands of scenarios flashed through her mind – he'd fallen down the stairs and broken his neck, all that fried food he ate had caught up with him and caused a very early heart attack, he had been car-jacked – all within a split second. Her brain all of a sudden felt overloaded. "Oh, God what if something has happened to him?"

Angela went to sit beside her on the sofa in her office, and put her arm around her. "I'm sure he's fine, sweetie."

"What are you two doing?"

Both women turned quickly in their seats, and their hearts rose in their chests, hoping the voice belonged to Booth. But they sank again when they saw Hodgins standing in the doorway.

"Nothing. Just wondering what's keeping Booth." Angela replied, obviously not too happy to be talking to him instead.

"It's nice to see you too. Maybe he's stuck in traffic, there's a pile-up on the highway."

"You...you don't think he was in one of the cars...?" Temperance stuttered, now very worried. This couldn't be happening.

"Oh, no I'm sure he's fine. Have you tried ringing him?" Hodgins tried to comfort her, and came and sat on the other side of her on the sofa.

"Yes. He didn't pick up."

"Maybe the battery's dead?"

Maybe. Or maybe something really bad had happened...


	11. Chapter 11

A/N Hello my darlings! Hope you are all well and life is treating you good. This chapter took forever because I kept getting distracted by much less exciting things, but I now have about nine whole weeks doing nothing, so there will be no more excuses for me not to write! Thanks a bundle for all the reviews, each one made me happy when life gave me lemons. This chapter is dedicated to my buddy Ollie who is currently on holiday in Greece (the lucky cow) so she won't get to read it for a while, and also to another friend of mine who got some really crappy news last week. Bad things sometimes do happen to good people and it sucks. But enough of my drama and onto Temperance's drama - wahey!!!

Agent Hughes stepped into the main lobby of the Jeffersonian Institute. He was a tall man, at least six feet, with sandy hair which looked like it was in need of a cut, and a beard to match, holding a pile of files under his arm with paper spilling out of them. His shirt was hanging out at the back and had a stain on it, and one of his shoes was untied. As Temperance came down the stairs from her floor to meet him, Angela following close behind, she could see that he was almost the total opposite of the organised and composed Seeley Booth. Once again, as it had so many times over the past hour or so, she thought about where he could be and why no one had heard from him. But she knew why Hughes was here – he had bad news.

As soon as she had got a call from Anna at the front desk, she felt the ground go from under her feet. Booth had told her a while ago about when he had had to 'do the honours' as he had called it – inform a fellow agent's wife or girlfriend that they had been involved in an altercation resulting in their death – and how the families reaction was the worst part of it. She asked Angela to go with her for moral support, and also to make sure she didn't lose her head. Anna had said that Hughes wanted to come to meet her in her office, but she had refused – she would still have to work there and didn't want every corner of the lab to remind her of when she was told that her boyfriend wouldn't be coming home, that her children would never know their father, and that her whole world had fallen apart. It was easier to do it in the lobby, because there was another entrance at the rear of the building that she could enter through and never have to be reminded of what was about to happen, plus there would be plenty of people about to prevent her from totally freaking out and collapsing in a heap on the floor.

As the two women reached to bottom of the stairs, Agent Hughes looked up and caught Temperance's eye. The look on his face, a mixture of sadness and pity, confirmed what she already knew – Booth was dead.

"Dr Brennan?" He addressed her in a soft, gentle voice, one that she didn't expect. His eyes made him seem like he would be much more stern.

"Y-yes?" She felt Angela's hand on her shoulder, and she tried to tell herself not to cry.

"I'm here to talk to you about Agent Booth."

"Oh God..."

"He's OK, his car was involved in an accident on the highway. He was taken to the emergency room, and his condition is stable. The whole situation was pretty nasty, but he's OK."

She couldn't get past the first part of what he told her. Booth was OK. Everything else was just buzzing in her ears and she felt like her legs were about to buckle under her. Trying to think of something to say, all she could do was stare at Hughes, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"I want to see him."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Temperance didn't remember much about the car journey to the hospital. It was all she could do not to cover her eyes with her hands. Angela wasn't a good driver at the best of times, but when she had someone yelling in her ear to go faster her driving became even more erratic.

When they pulled up in the hospital car park, they both almost broke out into a run to get there quicker. Although being pregnant made this difficult, she managed to make it up to the nurses' station without collapsing.

After discovering that Booth was on floor three, ward eight (called the Serenity Ward, in an attempt, Temperance thought, to detract from the fact that those unfortunate enough to be lying up there were most likely close to death) the two of them made their way towards the elevator.

"I can't believe he's actually all right. I just..."

"What sweetie?" Angela put a comforting arm around her. There had been so much for her friend to deal with lately, and this was the icing on the cake. Hopefully things would be much better for her from now on. She certainly deserved something good.

"I care so much about him, I just don't have the words for it, you know?" The elevator pinged and the doors opened. They stepped inside, and pressed the button marked three.

"Temperance Brennan is lost for words? Someone help, it's a sign of the apocalypse!"

"Ange, I'm serious. We are together and having babies, and I honestly thought that I was going to lose him. After everything that's happened. But he's fine, I'm fine, and we still have a chance at this working."

"I'm happy for you, and I'm glad you're happy. It's about time!"

The doors opened again and they stepped out. They turned the corner towards ward eight, their shoes squeaking on the polished floor. The ward was bigger than they had anticipated, and Temperance was worried that it would take them a while to find Booth. They were faced with a sign which indicated that wards one to four were located down a corridor to their left, and the two of them walked in that direction.

Soon, they came to ward three, and now faced the task of finding out just where in the ward he was. It didn't help that she couldn't see into any of the side rooms (which the nurse had told her he was in) because the doors were shut for privacy.

"Angela, what are you doing?"

"How else are we going to find him?" She had gone to the first door, stood on her tiptoes and peered through the window. When she saw that Booth wasn't the man in the bed, she moved on and did the same thing at the next door. Now she was at the third door, and motioned to Temperance to help her look.

"We can't! We don't know these men, what if they are awake?"

"They won't mind, we're better looking than most of the nurses in this place."

Sighing, Temperance went to one of the doors and tried to peer through the window. Her stomach prevented her from getting close enough to the high window to see down into the bed properly.

"This one could be him, Ange, what do you think?"

"We won't know for sure until we go in."

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Slowly, Temperance turned the handle and pushed the door open. Once she had a clear view of the bed, and the figure lying in it, she gasped and tears fell from her eyes and began to run down her cheeks.

There was tall, strong Seeley Booth, bruises and cuts covering his face. The hospital blanket was drawn up under his chin so she couldn't tell the full extent of his injuries, but he looked like he'd been through a lot. Wires snaked out of his skin in various places and connected to machines. But seeing the steady rise and fall of his chest filled her with hope – he was fighting and she was determined he was going to get better.

"Excuse me, are you family?" A red-headed nurse had come into the room and was standing behind them.

"Yes...What happened to him?" Angela asked, after sensing her friend was too emotional to be asking questions right now.

"A young woman was talking on her cellphone whilst driving down the highway. She stopped suddenly and and truck ran into the back of her. Then Mr Booth's car ran into the back of the truck. Unfortunately the woman didn't make it, and the truck driver is still in surgery. We aren't sure what will happen to him. But your husband was very lucky, Mrs Booth" the nurse said to Temperance.

"Oh, they aren't married yet."

"I see," she said, turning back to Angela. "He'll be awake soon, but probably not in a very talkative mood. I'll come back a bit later."

The nurse left and Temperance heard the door close after her. She sat down in the chair beside the bed and reached out for Booth's hand, resting her head in her own. It had been a long day and she was tired, so it was a fight to keep her eyes open and stay awake.

The sound of shifting beside her made her open her eyes, to see Booth awake and looking at her.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N Hey everybody, hope your weekend was fabulous! Right, onto business: this is the penultimate chapter...but panic not because I do have a sequel planned! Ok, now for the slightly less thrilling news: obviously being only sixteen I have no previous experience of being pregnant and/or giving birth (thank god) so these next two chapters are a little crappy - not because I haven't tried, you should see the amount of research I have done, much to the dismay of my mum who may actually think I'm pregnant after she saw me looking up pregnancy tips on the internet! But yeah, for all of you reading this who have actually given birth all I can do is apologise, there are so many conflicting views about labour and such on the internet (is it awful, is it not) and I couldn't really decide which way I wanted to right it, so I sort of combined the two. I did think I'd found a way of getting around actually writing about the birth, but that didn't really work. Damn. Guess this fic was slightly ambitious. So yeah, read it, review it and give me your thoughts. I love you all greatly! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

"I thought I'd lost you. I'm so happy you're OK."

"I'm not going anywhere, Temperance. You can't get rid of me that easily."

Booth was fully awake now, and she was still sitting in the uncomfortable chair she had sat in before, when life seemed so bleak and her whole world was barely being held together. Her small, delicate hand was still clutching his much bigger one, their fingers entwined so that neither could tell which belonged to them. Angela had left a few moments earlier, satisfied that he was fine, to go back to the lab to inform everyone else. So now they were alone in his hospital room, neither of them quite sure what to say to the other. Like before, she had so much she wanted to say but no way of getting the words out so that they even came close to describing how she felt.

He had never been one for big speeches or talking about his feelings, but she always understood him – even when he barely understood it himself. She never judged him for anything he had done before. She never expected him to be something he wasn't.

She would never tell him, but he was everything she could ever want.

* * *

Temperance would never have imagined that she could be this happy. It was two months after Booth's accident, just one month before the babies were due, and the two of them were sitting side by side on the sofa watching TV. It was her last night in her house, the one that she had lived in for the past nine years. Tomorrow, they would be sitting on the same sofa, but in the living room of the new house that they had just bought together. It had three bedrooms, a garage and a huge garden – perfect for the twins. They were cutting it a bit fine, moving in so close to her due date (especially as twins almost always came early, anyway) but at least they were actually doing it – even though she felt a bit like she had wasted an entire weekend sorting out the babies' room at her house, when it wouldn't even be used. Suddenly she had a thought.

"What are we going to name the babies?"

"Mork and Mindy." He obviously wasn't interested in _this_ aspect of parenthood, and was more intent on watching the television.

"Seeley, be serious! We should have at least discussed this by now, or even decided on something!"

"OK, you tell me names you like and I'll tell you names that I like."

She thought for a moment. She wanted something original, but nothing weird. Angela had given her many, many suggestions, but none of them were really to her taste – they were all 'trendy' names like Madison and Jackson.

"For a boy, I like Brandon..."

"Wait a second," Booth interrupted, "Don't you think Brandon Brennan sounds a bit strange?"

"I was thinking it should be Brandon Booth."

"Oh. Well I just assumed that you would want them to take your name."

"Children normally take the father's surname." Angela was still determined that they would eventually get married, so said letting the children take his name was a good idea. 'So when you're married the whole family has the same surname,' she had said. But things were starting to get awkward, so Temperance decided to change the subject. "I like Beatrice for a girl."

"Hmm...Little Bea. I like it."

"What are your names?"

"For a boy, Alexander. For a girl, I think Christine would be sweet. It would be nice to name a girl after your mother, don't you think?"

She didn't know what to say, but he seemed to have that affect on her a lot recently. This was the best name he could have ever suggested, and just the fact that he did suggest it made her want to cry. She missed her mother so much all the time, but she missed her so much more now that she could really use her advice, now that Temperance should be preparing her for her first grandchildren.

* * *

"That box goes upstairs, in the biggest bedroom."

At last they were finally moving into their new house, and beginning to feel like a real family. Almost all of the big pieces of furniture had been taken off the truck and into the correct room, and now the removal men (which basically meant Hodgins, Zack, and a couple of Booth's friends) were taking boxes containing china, clothes, and other household items inside.

Temperance was on the front lawn of twenty-one Meadowlake Street , directing everyone on where things went. As Zack was bringing out dining room chairs about half an hour ago, she had told him to leave one for her to sit on – she was so big now that she could only stand up for about ten minutes without her back beginning to really hurt. Or her feet, and she hadn't seen them for about three months.

"Here you go." Booth had come out of the front door with a glass of lemonade for her.

"I should be getting drinks for you guys, you're doing all the work."

"You're pregnant. If I see you move from that chair, you can sleep outside tonight."

"That's only if you see me, though?"

"Temperance, we don't need any help. Stay there."

If it had been anyone else who had told her to do that, she would have immediately defied them and done her own thing. But she knew Booth was only doing what was best for her – about a month ago she had been informed she had high blood pressure. She was well known for being fiercely independent, although for some reason she liked the idea of relying on him, and trusting him to make a decision.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her abdomen, and a trickle of water down her leg.

"Are you OK?" Booth had rushed back over from where he had began to take more boxes off the truck when he heard her cry out in pain.

"I think my waters just broke."

"Shall I phone an ambulance?"

"No, the book says it takes a while for labour to get established." She appeared calm, but inside she was screaming. She wasn't ready, and even though she had read that damned baby book about ten times she still wasn't as prepared as she thought she should be. Another jolt of pain struck her body, and she had to fight to stay on her chair. It felt like a really strong period pain, only worse and like her insides were falling out.

"I'm calling the hospital," Booth said, taking his phone from his pocket. After requesting an ambulance and giving their address, he informed the operator that Temperance was having twins and that her due date wasn't for another month.

The bag she had packed a few weeks ago for when she went into labour was somewhere on the removal truck, she didn't think it had been taken off yet. If she was prepared like she should be, she should have put it in the car so she would have it to hand if this happened. She was going to be the worst mother imaginable, she just knew it. Her contractions were pretty close together, now and lasting what seemed like forever. The ambulance also seemed to be taking forever, and she really didn't want to give birth on the front lawn.

* * *

"OK, Miss Brennan, just relax. I'm nurse Beth and I'm going to be looking after you until you're settled in."

She was a women about ten year older than Temperance, with tightly curled black hair flecked with grey. Her face however looked like it had never seen a worry in it's life, and was just marked with deep laughter lines around her eyes and mouth. She was pushing the wheelchair that Temperance was sat in through the maternity unit until they came to an empty bed near the end of the ward.

"Now then," she continued, "You have nothing to be alarmed about, premature births in multiples are quite common because the uterus tends to get overstretched. Some women are also prone to cervix weakness, although that's more likely to happen to a woman who's given birth to more than one child already – this is you're first, right?"

"Yes." she replied weakly, feeling sick with worry that her babies weren't ready to be born. Like this was her fault, and that she hadn't protected them enough.

"Well we're going to have bundles of fun. You don't need to panic, you're in good hands – this will be my thirtieth twin birth. I think you should try pushing vaginally before we talk about a caesarian section, you could probably handle it. You're further along than a lot of the women who come in having twins."

"Is it going to hurt?" Of course, she already knew the answer, but she almost hoped that in the past five minutes the doctors had come up with a magical way of making labour pain free.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie, it's no picnic. We can give you an epidural if you'd like?"

"Yes please."

Once she was settled in the bed, dressed in a hospital gown, she was examined to see how dilated she was, given an epidural to take away the pain, and her stomach was felt to determine what position the babies were lying in. Then the curtain around her bed was drawn back, and she was greeted by Booth, Angela and the removal men who were all eager to know what was happening.

"Miss Brennan," Nurse Beth began, "The twin on the right-hand side of your uterus is in a breech position. That means we can try giving birth naturally to the left twin and then the right one could turn, or we may have to do an emergency C-section. Your blood pressure is also quite high, so you need to make up your mind quick so we can get them out of there soon."


	13. Chapter 13

A/N Hello everybody, how's your summer going? Well, here it is, the final chapter! It's been a fun, albeit emotional ride, and I have definitely enjoyed writing this one! I'd like to thank my parents, my friends, God...Just kidding, but I would like to say a HUUUUUUUUGE thank you to everybody who has taken the time to read and review this story - 'my baby' as it has been referred to on occasion. I feel like m child is all grown up and leaving home, it's so sad! But anyway, this is your last chance to tell me what you think of this story, so leave me a review please! Thank you all! [This chapter was reuploaded on May 24th 2010 due to formatting errors]

"_Once the umbilical cord is cut, you're never closer to your mother again. It's all downhill from there. You and your mother share an unbreakable bond for nine months, but once you are born the two of you are inseparable for, at most, a few minutes. After that, you no longer need her – someone entirely different could raise you without any problems. Things are never the same for you again. You've been out in the harshness of the world for two minutes and already everything is different, everything has changed."_

* * *

Lying in her hospital bed, Temperance couldn't quite believe the twins were finally here...

Obviously it hadn't been part of her plan to have an emergency caesarean section, and it was terrifying to think that something could go seriously wrong, but once she knew that they were both healthy, and that twenty fingers and twenty toes had been delivered, the fear melted away and she was left with the glorious feeling that she had created two things so amazing and so beautiful.

When the nurse told her that she needed to decide how to deliver her babies, she really didn't know what to do. In the end after talking it out with Booth and Angela, she decided it would be best for both twins if she had a C-section – a natural birth could cause the breech twin to become distressed, and it would prevent damage to their fragile skulls because they were premature. Because she had already had an epidural before she had decided this, it meant she could be awake for the birth if it was topped up, which she was really pleased about. The last pain she felt was the needle being re-inserted into her spine, and then nothing. She wasn't even aware they had arrived until she heard them cry.

Before they had been brought over for her to see, she looked up at Booth and saw tears in his eyes. It was fascinating how two things so tiny could create such a huge surge of emotion – the feeling had certainly overwhelmed both of them. She knew right then and there that everything was going to be perfect.

There were two clear plastic cribs beside her, one on each side of the bed. One contained Beatrice Christine Booth, looking content as she slept, wrapped in pink blankets. The other one was empty, because it's occupant, Brandon Alexander Booth, was in his mothers' arms being fed from a bottle, wrapped in blue blankets. She could have sat there looking at him for the rest of her life – his tiny little hands and feet, the perfect shell of his ears, the crown of soft fine hair on his head. Even at a few hours old, he looked exactly like his father. His father who was asleep in a chair across the other side of the room, although why he was tired was anyone's guess. They had only been in the world for a few hours, but she was completely besotted with both of them. She felt like her heart would burst – she had never felt so much love for anyone or anything before.

* * *

"Do you think this is the right one?"

"Won't know until we look." Angela and Hodgins' voices floated in through the open door from the hallway. Temperance had been just on the verge of sleep, herself, but the sound of her friends outside made her eyes spring open. Seconds later, both appeared in the room, clutching balloons, cards and stuffed toys.

"Hey Sweetie! Sorry it took us so long to get here, the traffic was murder." Noticing the sleeping figure squashed into the uncomfortable chair, and the very content-looking babies, their voices were immediately hushed to just above a whisper.

"That's OK."

"They're gorgeous," Hodgins said, standing next to Bea's crib, "This one looks just like you."

"How do you feel?"

"A little bit sore. But it was worth it." Temperance replied. She hadn't been able to stop smiling since she first heard her children cry – the sure sign that they were OK. It was a sound that was so hard to describe – it was something that to her seemed so beautiful, yet she was sure that in a few days her sleep-deprived mind would hate it. Right now, all she wanted to do was enjoy the moment, before everything got too much for her to handle, like she was sure it would.

Although that natural maternal instinct she was sure she was never going to have had definitely kicked in. She had never even held a baby before today, and here she was feeding Brandon and every so often making sure Bea's blanket wasn't constricting her too much. She couldn't wait to get out of the hospital, but appreciated the fact that she would need to stay in for a while yet, not because the babies weren't healthy, but because she still needed to heal from the surgery. She felt well enough in herself – her blood pressure had gone down as soon as they were born. The extra time in the hospital would also give her plenty of time to establish a routine with the twins, and she would become more confident in bathing and changing them. She still had so much to learn about being a mother.

* * *

One week later, it was finally time for Booth and Temperance to take the twins home. The previous evening, both of them had been somewhat terrified of going home to their new house, where most of their belongings were still in boxes and nothing was in its' correct place. They were eager to leave the hospital, but once they had left the care of the doctors and nurses they weren't sure if they would be able to cope with two babies, plus Parker on the weekends. Booth had only been given a short amount of time of from work, and Temperance still wasn't sure what she was going to do about her job – she definitely wouldn't be going back until Bea and Brandon were at least four months old, but would she be able to leave them in someone else's care? There were so many horror stories in the news about babysitters and nannies killing the babies they were looking after. Or she could stay home and, if she ever found the time when the twins were sleeping or just generally being quiet, spend more time on her writing. Or try and find some way of doing both. She loved her job at the Jeffersonian dearly, but she loved her children more.

Now, they were just about ready to leave. The bags were packed and had already been put in the car, along with the balloons that Angela had brought and numerous bunches of flowers from people that both parents worked with. The babies were being strapped into their car-seats, which had been put on the bed along with a changing bag. A group of nurses had just left after coming to say goodbye – all of the doctors and nurses were fond of the twins

Pulling into the driveway of twenty-one Meadowlake Street for the first time since they had moved in, Temperance was very glad to be home – not that she could really call it that. She hadn't even spent one night there. She hadn't seen it with her furniture inside, so when she walked through the door she wasn't really sure what to expect.

She was pleasantly surprised. Most of the boxes were gone from the hallway, with just a few remaining. The smell of fresh paint lingered in the air, making Temperance feel quite light-headed already.

"I asked Hodgins and Zack to help us out while you were in the hospital," Booth said, putting his arm around her, "I wanted to make sure everything was ready for when the twins came home. And if you would just come with me for a second, you will see that I also made sure that the twins' bedroom was ready, as well."

She followed him up the stairs, being careful to dodge one rogue paint can when she reached the landing, and saw the room in which two cribs, a changing table and a bookcase had been set up. In the corner of the room was a beautiful old rocking chair, with flowers and swirled vines like thick green veins painted on it, and a yellow throw draped over the back.

"It belonged to my grandmother, I asked my parents to send it over from Philadelphia. Then I asked Angela to paint it for me."

"That's what was in the box she had."

"Yeah, she's really bad at hiding things from you. I just thought it would be a nice thing to have, like an heirloom that the twins can use when they have kids."

"It's too soon to be planning grandchildren, don't you think?"

They had only just brought Brandon and Bea home from the hospital, but she knew how fast the years would pass. This was the beginning of the rest of their lives.

A/N Part deux: Well folks, that's the end...but fear not because a sequel is planned and in the process of being written. It's basically going to be like there is a chapter for each year of the twins' life - there will be eighteen chapters, but maybe more if the mood takes me - describing events and milestones etc. Should be quite an interesting project, but like I said I've already started it. The first chapter is about a third done and just needs some tweaking. Wow that was quite a ramble! Don't forget to leave me a review!


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